


Hide and Seek

by Yatzstar



Series: The Mandalorian and His Child [4]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Games, Gen, Hide and Seek, in reference to episode 6
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-17
Updated: 2019-12-17
Packaged: 2021-02-27 02:28:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21830017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yatzstar/pseuds/Yatzstar
Summary: The Child became good at hiding with a little help.
Relationships: Baby Yoda & The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV)
Series: The Mandalorian and His Child [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1565002
Comments: 20
Kudos: 1023
Collections: The Best Parent Din Djarin Fics, The Best of the Best Mandalorian Fics





	Hide and Seek

The Child was in a particularly playful mood that day. The Mandalorian was focused on his search for a new job, but he could tell the Child was playing by the clinking and shuffling of his makeshift toys and the occasional babble, lost in his own little games.

It had taken the Mandalorian some time to get used to the amount of noise the Child made, having been in silence for so long. It also took him a while to realize that not every noise was worth investigating, as the kid made a fair amount in his harmless play.

When the Mandalorian had at last settled on a job, he set the ship in autopilot and rose from his seat. The Child spared him a glance, but quickly returned to his games as the bounty hunter walked out of the cockpit. He went down the lower levels and opened his armory, inspecting his weapons. Though he did not use them often, he polished them to keep them ready for when he would use them.

He selected a rifle and started dismantling it with practiced ease. Soon he slipped into a daydream, his hands moving automatically, only to be interrupted by a small thud behind him. He turned slightly to see the Child waddling across the floor, the knob from the dashboard clasped firmly in his little hands. The kid stopped a few feet from the Mandalorian and plunked himself down onto the floor, resuming his games.

The Mandalorian resisted a smile behind his helmet. No matter what, it seemed the Child was determined to be near him, regardless of if they were even interacting. It seemed proximity was what mattered most to the kid, and the bounty hunter had learned to allow him that.

They continued their separate engagements for a while longer. The Mandalorian was so engrossed in his task that he did not notice what the Child was doing until he got up and started waddling away. The man glanced in the Child’s direction, watching as he toddled over to some supply crates and went behind them. He had no problem with this so long as the kid didn’t get into the crates themselves, so he turned his eyes back to the weapon.

His concentration was broken yet again as he caught a small movement from the direction of the crates. He looked up just in time to see the Child’s head vanish behind the crates again. Not knowing what the kid was doing, the Mandalorian looked back down at the gun, only to see the same small movement off to the side.

He glanced at the kid out of the corner of his eye, and saw him peering out from behind the crate. When he turned his head to look at the Child fully, he vanished behind the crate again.

The Mandalorian resisted a snort. Was the Child trying to play a game with him? He turned his helmet back towards the gun in his hands, but kept his eyes on the crates. Sure enough, the little green head popped out again.

He had seen hide and seek played before, but it never occurred to him that the Child might want to play it, much less with him. With a sigh of resignation he rose, pretending like he didn’t see the Child, and put the gun away. When he turned back to the crates, the Child had hidden again, save for the tip of one ear that poked out.

He slowly advanced towards the crates, acting like he was looking for something and hoping to catch the Child by surprise. A faint memory surfaced of his parents chasing him through the house, and though he wasn’t nearly as open and jovial as they, he could at least indulge the Child in the same glee his younger self had felt at the game of cat and mouse.

Sure enough, when he made it to the crates and looked behind them, the Child let out a small squeal of surprise.

“Found you,” the Mandalorian said.

A small frown puckered the Child’s face, seemingly displeased at having been found so easily.

The Mandalorian sighed and knelt down. “If you’re going to hide, you have to be less obvious, especially with these,” he said, tapping one of the Child’s ears.

The frown disappeared as quickly as it came, and the Child babbled at him.

“You want to try again?”

The Child smiled, and taking that as a confirmation, the Mandalorian scooped him up and carried him back to the middle of the room.

“Go hide,” he told the Child, setting him on the floor. “I won’t look this time.”

Immediately the Child waddled off again, and the Mandalorian pointed his gaze towards the floor, waiting a full minute before he looked up. The room was seemingly empty, but unfortunately the Child gave himself away with the slight shifting of the spare cloth in the corner.

The Mandalorian purposefully looked away, hoping the kid would use his supposed lack of attention to find another hiding spot, but when he turned back, the bundle of cloth still remained strangely sentient.

“You’re going to have to be still to hide successfully, _ad’ika_ ,” he said, lifting up the cloth to reveal the little green head. As he spoke, he realized he could use this as a teaching moment. The Child was being hunted by practically every bounty hunter in the galaxy, and good hiding skills could possibly save his life.

“You have to use every second the enemy’s attention is diverted to your advantage,” he told the Child as he brought him back to the middle. “When I’m not looking, try and find a new place to hide.”

The next few rounds, the Child attempted to do as he said, but got himself caught in the middle of transitioning hiding spots. However, he seemed determined to successfully hide, and would not be dissuaded.

Eventually, the Child managed to pull one over on him. He approached the nook he was sure the kid was hiding in, but to his surprise, the little one was nowhere to be seen. Now thoroughly confused, he turned, scanning the room. He had checked everywhere else that he could think the Child would hide, and found himself admitting defeat.

“Alright, come out you little womp rat!” he called.

He watched in surprise as the metal door that enclosed his bedding hissed open, the Child standing proudly on top of the bed.

“How did you get in there?” he asked, sure that the door had been closed before they started.

The Child just giggled in reply, seemingly delighted that he managed to confuse the man.

“Good job,” the Mandalorian said, something like pride blossoming within him as he picked up the Child. “If you can hide from me, you can hide from anybody.”

The Child smiled at him before a huge yawn cut in. The Mandalorian sighed in relief at the sight; he had finally managed to tire the kid out.

“You should go to sleep, _ad’ika_ ,” he said.

The Child whined and squirmed, reaching towards the floor, clearly wanting to play some more.

“Time to sleep,” the Mandalorian said firmly, unrelenting in his hold. “We can play again tomorrow.”

At that the Child ceased his struggling. Though he still looked unhappy at having his playtime cut short, it did not last for long. As is the manner of children, sleep came upon him quickly, and he curled into the Mandalorian’s hold, tiny snores punctuating each breath.

The Mandalorian looked down at the Child with a fondness that almost frightened himself, and realized that he too was tired. Had he really reached the point where he could be tired out by playing games with a child?

Trying to put the absurd realization from his mind, he settled down on his bed, only putting down the Child to remove his helm and the outer pieces of his armor. When everything was removed, he pulled the Child to him, nestling the little one firmly against him.

He felt a certain sense of security now that he knew the Child was capable of hiding well. He hated to think of a time when the Child might have to use what he learned, and that made him hold kid all the tighter.

The warmth of the Child against his ribcage soothed his worried thoughts, and the heavy pull of sleep on his eyelids eventually proved too much. He fell asleep, surprisingly content with playing hide and seek as many times as the kid asked it of him.


End file.
